The field of this invention is coal gasification processes and apparatus.
A coal gasification process has been used in the past, in which pulverized coal was transported in a mechanical manner, with a screw conveyor, to the burner and mixed with oxygen in the burner. Such process operated at atmospheric pressure. In order to obtain a stable flame and to prevent local overheating in the gasification reactor, as well as to achieve the most complete gasification possible, measures were taken to mix the coal particles as completely as possible with the oxygen before the mixture leaves the burner. This meant that the burner had a large length, for example more than a meter.
It has now been found that the controllability of such prior process is not satisfactory. Moreover, the process is unsatisfactory for high pressure gasification, since the use of the long burners entails the danger of detonation, that is to say, the fuel and oxygen commence reaction and may explode in the burner. Also, the stability of the flame is often much more critical at high pressure.